She lied to Doctor Porter.
Today isn’t about fixing her car, it’s about the mental preparation for what’s coming.
She doesn’t even bother asking Gerard to give her a ride home.
He’s a prick.
Instead, she walks back to her cabin, letting the morning air kiss her skin. She breathes slowly, inhaling the crisp air and the deep, woodsy scent of Green Woods, a stark contrast from the city. Once inside her cabin, she readies for a shower.
The heat is incredible, clearing her mind and washing away the chill in her heart.
She can survive Erik Hart.
And she’ll come out the other side better for it.
It’s mid-afternoon when her phone buzzes.
She picks it up almost instantly, relieved that her signal is back and she’s able to hear a familiar voice.
“Hey,” she greets Lita.
“Hi,” the Beta woman says. “I’m just checking on you.”
Ellie smiles, and the tension leaves her body. “Well, no one’s eaten me yet, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
She flinches at the double meaning.
Thoughts of a dark-haired head between her legs fill her mind as Lita chuckles. “No. I’m just glad you’re alright. I’m going to accept those notes, you know, and add it to our research. ”
Ellie fights a smile. “I know.”
“I’m still pissed at you for going, but I understand why. Just be safe, please. You know Betas can be intense, even though they’re not Alphas.”
Her smile fades.
Lita doesn’t know who she’s working with.
She also doesn’t know it’s only one person she’s working with, not a group.
Ellie decides not to bring it up.
“I’ll keep you posted,” she assures Lita. “But my reception can be spotty, so don’t panic if I don’t text or call you back right away.”
“I’ll try not to,” she promises. “Also, if you need anything, or if things get too hard…”
“I know,” Ellie says quickly. “They won’t. But if they do, I’ll come back.”
“Right. I just worry about you, when you’re alone.”
I know, she wants to say.
She bites her lip, wondering how much she should tell her. “My car broke down, by the way,” she admits.
“Oh, no. Do you need me to drive up there?”
“Nah, I’ve got it, I promise. Everything’s within walking distance.”
“Alright. Well, I need to get back. I’ll talk to you later, but if you need anything at all, let me know.”
Her heart warms at Lita’s concern for her. “Of course, I will. Bye.”
She ends the call and places the phone on her bed, her head in her hands.
I worry about you when you’re alone.
And with sudden clarity, Ellie realizes this is the first time she’s been alone in a long time.
The fears and flashbacks threaten to take over and force her to relive the nightmare.
She stares at the cabin walls, focusing on the details of the wood, and she tries to relax.
She can’t go back to that time.
She won’t.
Once she’s calmed down, she researches Erik Hart.
Going in tomorrow, need to prepare for what they’ll talk about.
Purposely avoiding the crime scene photos, she begins to research. And the more she does, the more she’s shocked at what she reads.
The man is brilliant.
He’s the creator of security software with technology so advanced it’s used by the military.
He’s received numerous awards for his achievements and has been featured in different technology books and magazines.
She stares at one of the photo shoots and her mouth waters.
He’s fucking gorgeous.
Clean shaven with his hair perfectly styled, he looks like sex personified with his muscles on display in a fitted black shirt and dark denim jeans.
He wears the familiar smirk she saw the day before, the one that made her unexpectedly wet with slick.
But flashes of the crime scenes fill her mind.
How can that man, so carefree and handsome, commit such atrocities?
It doesn’t make sense.
She digs deeper, devouring as much information as she can about him.
Both of his parents passed away years ago, with the only surviving family member being a younger sister.
She tries to piece together the clues that would finally give her the answer as to why he brutally murdered three people.
The search is fruitless, and she ends up staring at his photos, chastising herself for finding him so attractive.
It’s hours later when her phone rings, buzzing on the desk. She jumps at the sudden sound.
She doesn’t recognize the number, and she answers out of curiosity.
“Hello?”
“Elizabeth.”
She freezes. He says her full name with such authority, his voice silky and low, that her heart threatens to beat out of her chest.
There’s no mistaking who it is—Erik is calling her.
“How did you get this number?” she asks, doing her best to keep her voice even and sound professional.
“You’re easy to find.”
He’s threatening you. End the call.
“Does Doctor Porter know you have access to a phone?” And damn it, she can’t keep the waver out of her voice.
“If that makes you feel better, sure.” She swears she can hear his smirk through the phone.
“If you’re using an unauthorized phone, I’ll have to report you.”
She has no idea what she’s saying, but she tries to sound convincing.
“No, you won’t. Because then we wouldn’t be able to talk.”
Hang up hang up hang up!
“What do you want to talk about?” She squints her eyes shut, knowing this is a mistake, and grips the comforter so hard it could tear.
“I want to talk about you,” he purrs, and her body flushes with heat.
“There’s nothing to talk about with me,” she says simply. “I’m ending this call.”
He ignores her. “I’m curious why you, an Omega, think it’s smart to work with someone like me. And why you agreed to come back.”
She remains silent, and he chuckles.
“I don’t think it’s because of the money. I think it’s because you feel it, as well.”
Her blood runs cold. “Feel what?”
He remains silent for too long, drawing out his answer on purpose to make her panic.
Hang up!
“How badly I want to fuck you.”
The air leaves her lungs. Her pussy clenches at his words and her body shudders. He’s right, she definitely feels it too.
“This is inappropriate,” she insists, forcing herself to keep her tone even.
“Do you want me to stop? Or tell you how fucking good you smelled to me?”
Oh, God.
She’s embarrassingly wet, her cunt soaking through her underwear. “Erik…”
“You smelled like sunshine and honey. Baby, you smelled like fucking salvation.”
Oh, God.
She needs to hang up.
“Stop,” she chokes out, but she doesn’t end the call. His voice is too smooth and deep for her to do anything but listen.
“You were wet, when you left, like a good little Omega.”
Her nipples jut against her shirt, the fabric suddenly too rough against her delicate skin. She bites her lip to keep from moaning and digs her nails into the comforter.
If her car worked, she would leave right now. Damn the money. Damn it all.
“And I know you’re wet right now. It’s okay, baby. I won’t tell.”
Fuck, his voice.
The comforter is soaked. She bites her lip and tries her best to will herself to hang up, but she ends up gripping the phone like a lifeline.
“Do you know how hard you made me?” He continues, and she stays silent, hanging on to every word. “The hardest I’ve been in years. Do you want to know what I thought about when I made myself come?”
She can’t speak. If she speaks, he wins.
Her traitorous hand moves between her legs, reaching down under her leggings, and gently rubs between her slit, teasing herself open with one finger.
Her laptop is still open, and his smirking face reflects back to her on the screen.
“I thought about splitting you open on my knot,” he continues, his voice even. She works herself harder, rocking back and forth on her hand. “Thought about how that pretty pink pussy would grip me.”
Her clit is throbbing. She rubs it in quick circles as he continues.
“You would fight me at first, with your pretty little self-righteousness. But I’d tie you up, baby, so you couldn’t.”
She grinds against her hand, so desperate and wet that tears fill her eyes.
“And if that pretty little mouth still wouldn’t shut up, I’d ram my cock down it.”
He just continues talking as if she knows she’s close.
As if he can see her.
She accidentally lets out a choked sound, and she wants to die of shame.
He lets out a pleased hum. “You close, baby?”
And she is. She’s so fucking close, and his picture stares back at her, that fucking smirk on his face…
“Come for me, Ellie. Let me hear it.”
And that does it. Her body grows rigid and her pussy spasms and slick soaks her leggings. She comes thinking of his face, of his body slamming into her as he takes her cunt over and over.
She moans softly as she imagines him biting her mating gland, forcing her to be tied to him forever.
“Good girl,” he praises, and she whimpers at his words. She pants into the phone, waiting for her breathing to slow.
She eventually comes down from the high and reality sets back in.
What did you do?!
He’s silent on the phone as he waits for her to speak.
“That was inappropriate,” she finally breathes, and he chuckles.
“Yet, you still haven’t ended the call.”
She stares at the ceiling and thinks about what she’s done, and how she has to see him tomorrow.
“Why did you kill them?” she blurts out.
Once again, he’s silent for too long, and she chastises herself for being so fucking stupid.
“Guess you’ll have to see me to find out,” he says.
He ends the call.
